If you are counting this is number seven. A seventh knee surgery. By age 28.

Brandon Roy, who has missed the Timberwolves last four games, will undergo right knee surgery next week, reports Jason Quick at the Oregonian. No timeline for Roy’s return has been set.

Ugh. Not that this wasn’t a predictable outcome, but still. Ugh. I like Roy, I like his game (well, his old game). I wanted to believe. But it always felt the storm clouds were gathering.

He was philosophical about it, the paper reports.

“I wouldn’t be disappointed either way,’’ Roy said. “If it ends in three weeks, it ends. It’s over. I’m totally satisfied with what I’ve done. I know the sacrifice and the effort that I put into coming back. It took a lot of discipline to get to where I am, that’s all I care about: how hard I’ve worked.’’

Roy signed with the Wolves this year after missing a season following the Trail Blazers using their amnesty on him because his knees had gotten to the point he couldn’t play. He said he didn’t have any cartilage left. There was a retirement press conference (which Roy later said wasn’t a retirement). Roy was a fan favorite in Portland, a three-time All-Star whose body betrayed him.

But after a year off and a variety of treatments, he thought maybe. He talked big, about starting and playing more than 30 minutes a night, like the old Roy. Then he banged his knee in the Timberwolves final preseason game and aggravated it a couple of times after that. Minnesota coach Rick Adelman tried to take it slow, but…

Now… we don’t know.

He was to return to Portland for the first time with Minnesota, but that is not going to happen.

Roy has not played well this season, he hadn’t learned to adapt his game without his trademark explosive first step. In five games he averaged 5.8 points per game on 31.4 percent shooting.

Roy has one year left on his deal with Minnesota after this, but it only becomes guaranteed if he meets certain benchmarks, including games played.

I don’t remember playing tonight. I didn’t play. Guys get a lot of money to be ready to play. No Knute Rockne speeches. It’s your job. If you’re a plumber and you don’t do your job, you don’t get any work. I don’t think a plumber needs a pep talk. If a doctor botches operations, he’s not a doctor anymore. If you’re a basketball player, you come ready. It’s called maturity. It’s your job.

Like it or not, motivation is part of an NBA coach’s job.

But that’s also precisely what Popovich is doing.

His credentials dwarf any other coach’s. He can play to his own ego and absolve himself of responsibility – and players will seek to please him. His years of success have earned him the ability to motivate this way, a method no other coach could use without alienating his team.

So, why not hold Motiejunas to what became a four-year, $31 million offer sheet once matched? Houston got something in return – a later trigger date on guaranteeing Motiejunas’ 2017-18 salary. Originally, that decision had to be made March 1 – which would’ve meant dropping Motiejunas from the team this season to prevent his salary from counting next season. Now, the Rockets can make that call in July, after this season is complete.

The following two Julys, Houston will also have a choice on guaranteeing Motiejunas’ upcoming salary or dropping him.

Essentially, Motiejunas is signing the most lucrative Hinkie Special in NBA history. If he plays well and stays healthy, the Rockets have Motiejunas at an affordable rate. If he struggles or his back injuries flare up, they can drop him with little to no penalty.

After they backed themselves into this corner, Motiejunas and his agent, B.J. Armstrong, didn’t do so bad. Considering the similarity between this contract and the Nets’ original offer sheet, it seems Houston helped Armstrong save face after a bungled free agency (which is easier to accept when you’re adding a talented reserve to a formidable team).

But for how little is guaranteed and how much control the Rockets hold over the next four years, wouldn’t Motiejunas have been better off accepting the $4,433,683 qualifying offer?

This means Motiejunas can’t sign with the Nets, who signed him to the original offer sheet, for one year.

I bet it also means Motiejunas and Houston have agreed to a new contract. Otherwise, why release him from the offer sheet? The Rockets would be giving up a tremendous amount of leverage out of the goodness of their hearts – unless this is just a prelude to a new deal with Houston.